history – ROBERT LOERZEL

Where Chicago’s 1919 race riot began

The landscape along Lake Michigan on Chicago’s South Side has utterly changed over the past century. If you’re looking for the beaches where Chicago’s race riot erupted on July 27, 1919, you won’t find them. As I was researching a history of the riot for Chicago magazine, I searched for maps, documents, and details that… Continue reading Where Chicago’s 1919 race riot began

Chicago police were condemned in 1904 for drinking, slouching, ignoring crime

Chicago Tribune, January 29, 2017 — Too many of Chicago’s cops weren’t doing their jobs. Slouching in unkempt uniforms, they drank whiskey in saloons when they should have been walking their beats. And they ignored crimes happening right in front of their eyes. These were the findings of an investigation in 1904 called the Piper Report. “Chicago’s police… Continue reading Chicago police were condemned in 1904 for drinking, slouching, ignoring crime

When the Cubs were the Microbes

October 26, 2016 — Something on the sports pages caught my eye. It was a headline about a baseball game. A headline about a team called the Chicago Microbes. That stopped me in my tracks. What the hell was that? Read the story on Medium.

Displaced: When the Eisenhower Expressway Moved in, Who Was Forced Out?

WBEZ’s Curious City, August 26, 2016 — My story answers the question: “What happened to the people displaced by the Eisenhower Expressway?” Read and explore the interactive story (with web design by Logan Jaffe) and listen to the podcast and radio version.

If you toured Chicago in 1910, what would you do?

WBEZ’s Curious City, January 26, 2016 — Explore my interactive story on tourism in 1910 Chicago (with web design by Logan Jaffe). And listen to the podcast and radio story here on Soundcloud.